Farmland in Khairthal, Alwar

Who can buy agricultural land? We found no farmer-only clause in the Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holding Act, 1973 or in the first 100,000 characters (of about 108,700) of the Tenancy Act, 1955, apart from the Section 42 bar described below. Clause (a) of Section 42 was omitted with effect from 11 November 1992. Whether any residency or farmer test applies to a particular parcel should be checked with the Sub-Registrar before an advance is paid.

Ceiling limits still apply: Section 4(1) of the Ceiling Act sets, for a family of up to five members, 18 acres of land under assured irrigation that can grow two crops a year and 27 acres where it can grow one crop. Unirrigated land is capped by zone: 48 acres in the fertile zone, 54 in the semi-fertile zone, 125 in the semi-desert zone and 175 in the desert zone (the hilly-zone figure is unclear in the printed text). The ceiling rises by one-fifth for each member beyond five, up to twice the base. Section 17(1) bars acquiring land that takes a holding past the ceiling, and Section 17(2) requires declarations from buyer and seller before the transfer document is registered. The India Code text records amendments up to 2020, so the current schedule needs checking.

SC/ST khatedar land, Section 42 of the Tenancy Act: under clause (b), a sale, gift or bequest of khatedari rights by a Scheduled Caste member to a person outside that community, or by a Scheduled Tribe member to a person outside that tribe, is void; clause (bb) adds the Saharia tribe (Tenancy Act). In State of Rajasthan v. Aanjaney Organic Herbal Pvt. Ltd., Civil Appeals 6741-6742 of 2012, the Supreme Court held on 20 September 2012 that a sale by an SC member to a company was void (Supreme Court, September 2012). In February 2025 the Rajasthan High Court held again that a non-SC/ST buyer cannot acquire khatedari rights by adverse possession (LiveLaw, February 2025). The seller's community should be read from the jamabandi before any money moves.

Conversion for non-agricultural use, Section 90A: Section 90A of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 requires permission before agricultural land is put to non-agricultural use, building included. The State Government decides after an inquiry, the holder pays urban assessment or a premium, and use without permission exposes the holder to ejectment under Section 91 or to a penalty (Indian Kanoon text of Section 90A; the India Code copy could not be opened). The Rajasthan High Court noted in February 2022 that the government may regularise unauthorised conversions (LiveLaw, February 2022). For rural land, the 2007 conversion rules name the deciding officer by use and size: the Tehsildar for a residential unit up to 2,500 sq m, the Sub-Divisional Officer, Collector or State Government for larger plots. A complete application is to be decided within 90 days, and the converted land used within five years (Rules 9(3) and 14(1), Revenue Department rules, 2019 compilation). Later amendments to the rules were not read.

NRI & OCI buyers: The Reserve Bank's Master Direction under FEMA 1999 lets NRIs and OCIs buy immovable property other than agricultural land, plantation property or a farm house, in Rajasthan as elsewhere (RBI Master Direction, updated to 1 September 2022). The inheritance clauses carry no such exclusion, and residential or commercial plots are not on the excluded list.